line up

• Alborosie (Lead singer)
• Shengen clan Band (Backing band)

• country:
  Jamaica
• style(s):
  Ragga Reggae
• label:
  Greensleeves / VP Records
• type:
  Band
• gender:
  male
• instrumentation:
  vocal
• artist submitted by:
  Talowa Productions

It was Jamaica that gave birth to reggae music and introduced it to the world. Roots, dancehall,
lovers and dub all form part of the authentic reggae expression and no one embraces these styles
with such reverence, joy and vibrancy as Alborosie, who's currently one of the most in-demand names on Planet Reggae.
Real name Alberto D' Ascola, this thirty-three year old Sicilian with the waist-long dreadlocks is more than just a singer. He's also a gifted musician, arranger and producer one who plays virtually everything you hear on his records including his latest masterpiece, 2 Times Revolution.
This is the album that will extend his cult following and win him widespread acclaim further afield not because he's jettisoned any of the integrity that typically informs his music, but due to the additional vision, scope and daring he now brings to it.

Soul Pirate, his debut album, brought him to the attention of Greensleeves, who released his second
set, Escape From Babylon. Like its predecessor, Escape From Babylon was ablaze with old school
references. Alborosie says that's because he was born in the seventies and is therefore "a vintage
guy" himself. By his own admission, he identifies more with veterans than younger contemporaries
and describes his own Shengen studio named after the visa Jamaicans need to visit Europe as "a museum." That's because it's full of period-piece equipment, including King Tubby's original two track tape machine
His brand new album 2 Times Revolution, is dedicated "to all the rebels in the world." Just like reggae legends of the past such as Bob Marley, Alborosie is intent upon making music that can help bring about social change. He's both freedom fighter and defender of the poor (listen to new tracks like Tax War for instance, or What If Jamaica), and as the people of the Middle East rise up to demand their freedom, 2 Time Revolution couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate time. One of the many standouts is La Revolucion, which he wrote in tribute to South America's revolutionary heritage. It's a
track that finds him voicing in both Spanish and English and will have Latin communities the world
over rocking to the beat, yet its message is unmistakable.

"I love myself and I respect myself," he says. "I also love people and I respect them too. That is the root of my message and so that is what I push in my music all the while. You see at the end of the day I consider myself as a pastor, or a preacher. The music is like a ministry, and I don't even think of myself as doing reggae any more. I'm doing "Jahspel" music instead, which is a form of gospel music. We're redesigning the whole concept of it and I'm here to change everything, believe me..."